Tag Archives: MoviePass

It’s that time of year when all of the really awesome movies come out. From the much anticipated Avengers: Infinity War to Solo: A Star Wars Story, if you are like most movie lovers, you want to see all of the big movies up on the screen.

But the thing you may not like are the ticket prices.

MoviePass – Not Such a Smart Investment

In the past, I promoted MoviePass as your way to save the most money when you go to the movies. But they made a big mistake last year when they decided to drop the membership price down to $10/month. While anyone can see this is an awesome deal, the movie theaters did not.

When I went to my local theater, the manager told me they no longer accepted MoviePass, even though the app listed the theater as a ‘participating’ theater. The reason why had more to do with the theater not getting the money and the business model of MoviePass did not allow mom and pop style theaters to survive.

It did not stop there. AMC 25 in New York City would not give me AMC Stubs credit for the movies I purchased using MoviePass. Then they started marking my ticket MP when I purchased tickets. I knew something was up.

A couple of months later, MoviePass released their new terms, which meant that all of the theaters that did not want to be part of MoviePass were taken off of the app and the theaters stopped taking MoviePass. While MoviePass would like to say that it was their decision to do that, it was the theaters that asked them (via a lawsuit) to be removed from their program.

Based on the news reports of MoviePass’s current financial situation, they are losing millions and unless they have a turnaround with investors, plan on this ‘good idea’ failing soon…as in, it won’t last the year. Most financial analysts give it 3 months max.

MoviePass should have kept the membership the way it was. It was the $10/month deal that pissed off the theaters and brought this ‘too good to be true’ deal to an untimely end. For those who still have MoviePass and can use it, enjoy it while it lasts.

Life After MoviePass

Knowing that AMC was going to lose a lot of their loyal moviegoers after many (not all) of the theaters stopped accepting MoviePass , they devised a new plan.

If you are an AMC Stubs member, you can now get movie tickets every Tuesday for $5. Becoming an AMC Stubs Premiere member has its rewards. For every dollar you spend, you receive 100 points. You can use those points towards movie tickets and concessions. The points add up very quickly.

Also, being an AMC Stubs Premiere member means you have VIP status. There are separate lines at the ticket counter and at concessions for Premiere members. That long line…I can’t tell you how many times I bypassed that line and was the next person served.

On days like Tuesdays, you are better off purchasing your $5 ticket directly through the AMC Theatres app, because even the VIP line becomes extremely long. Purchasing through the app means you go directly to the ticket taker. Show them your ticket on your device and you are on your way. [I like simplicity. And if you’ve been in NYC as long as I have, you really hate lines.]

So if you are looking to take your family of 4 to the movies, consider an AMC Stubs Premiere membership. Make Tuesdays movie night. Tickets for the four of you will cost $20. And always be on the lookout for concessions deals on the app or on their website. [For instance, right now, teens can get a Frostee + bag of popcorn for $5 when they show their student ID.]
[Note: There are two AMC Stubs memberships: Insider and Premiere. Insider is free, but not worth it. The Premiere membership is usually around $15/year, and they do sales on the membership often to entice you to keep renewing (as of this writing the membership is 20% off, i.e. $11.99). Premiere members get free passes to advanced movie screenings 3-6 times a year. They also have VIP status. Trust me when I say the VIP status is everything. You also earn points faster. 100 points for every dollar versus 20 points for every dollar spent as an Insider. Generally, I get my money back from the membership in a couple of months or less (if I go to the movies on a weekly basis). The Premiere membership is totally worth it.]

To Save Even More

Every now and again, Groupon and other discount sites offer movie gift certificates at a discounted price. When you see your movie chain being offered, purchase it!

The best way to make sure you get notifications for these special deals is to download the Groupon app or sign up online. I usually receive an email or a notification when these deals go live.

Also, check to see if your workplace offers perks like Plum Benefits or Perks at Work. These websites offer businesses special corporate discounts for many things, especially movie tickets. For sites like Perks at Work, you can earn WOW Points that can be used as currency towards future purchases.

For most movie chains that use apps, you can easily upload the gift certificate information to the app. That makes purchasing movie tickets so much easier.

Disney Movie Rewards

If you are not a Disney Movie Rewards member yet, sign up. I know most of you reading this will probably go to a Marvel or Star Wars movie. Disney owns the rights to both. So why not rack up points every time you go?

When you head to the movies, keep your ticket stub and upload it to Disney Movie Rewards to get points to use towards either Disney related merchandise or gift certificates for movie concessions, movie tickets or Starbucks.

For a family of 4, that’s around 300 points each time you go to a Disney/Marvel/Star Wars movie. Currently, it’s 550 points for a $5 concession certificate and 1100 points for a $10 movie certificate.

And don’t forget to read their email newsletter. They always give away a few free points in the newsletter every single month. Every point counts.

Also, as an added bonus, if you have a Regal Crown Card, you can connect your account to Disney Movie Rewards for extra points.

Go Local

For those who have access to local non-chain movie theaters, please go. Sure, it is not like the experience you will get from the big chain theaters, but they will offer cheaper prices.

For instance, my local movie theater only charges $8 for movie tickets. Concessions are half the price as the chain theater. Because I go so much, the manager usually comps tickets for me every now and again. If I’m the only person in the theater and I am late, he will restart the movie for me.

There are less previews and ads prior to the movie (usually only one preview and then the movie begins). One movie preview is so much better than sitting through 20 minutes of previews. Yes, the previews in the chain theaters run for 20 minutes now.

What I love about local movie theaters is that you are giving back to the community when you choose to go local. Not only are you saving money, but you are also keeping a neighborhood icon alive. Trust me, you will miss it when it closes down. That’s why you need to help keep these local businesses alive.

Movie Deals

Always check out your favorite movie theater’s website for deals. Many theaters do special family deals during the summer.

For instance, all summer long, participating Regal Cinemas theaters offer $1 movies at 10:00AM on the weekends. Most of the movies are already out on DVD or television, but this is a good way to get the kids out and into some air conditioning surrounded by other kids for a couple of hours.

There are a lot of movie chains all across America that offer these little programs. Just check their website. Some offer special ticket discounts on certain days. Others offer discounts on concessions.

I haven’t paid $16+ for a movie ticket in a very long time. I find every avenue I can to go at a cheap price. The discounts are out there. You just have to know where to look.

Are you a cinephile? Oh, I am. I definitely am. Summers are always the best time to hit the theaters. It gets you out of the sweltering heat and into a nice air-conditioned room for a couple of hours. A lot of times, that’s worth the $16. But to do that more than a few times a month, movies can become pretty expensive.

Well, someone out there created MoviePass. For around $30/month (I pay $34.99/month), you can see 1 movie every 24 hours. For people in NYC, the monthly membership pays for itself in a little over 2 movies a month.

I’ve been using Movie Pass for almost two years now and I love it. Everyone I know that is a member loves it! I’ve never had an issue with it. The way it works is you apply online for the membership, and they send you a MoviePass credit card which you will use to purchase your movies at the theater. This card can only be activated by checking into a 2D movie on the MoviePass app on your phone. You’ll have 30 minutes after checking into the movie to purchase the ticket. The app is what activates the MoviePass credit card for that movie ticket purchase.

The card only works for 2D movies. There are restrictions that you should familiarize yourself with, so read the fine print to learn how to get the most out of MoviePass. Follow the rules and you’ll have no problems enjoying this great membership.

If you go to the movies every week, this would be a perfect money-saving option for you. I try to go to the movies 2-3 times a week.

MoviePass is Only the Beginning of Savings

Make sure you sign up for movie rewards at each of the theaters you go to. Combined with the MoviePass, you’ll rack up rewards much faster.

For instance, I just recently renewed my AMC Stubs card for $12. Most people would kind of flinch and turn down paying $12 for a rewards card. To me, I’ve gotten my money back plus more.

They sent me an email recently saying that if I renewed now, I could get $5 to spend in my account, so I renewed and got $5 to use at concessions. I’ve also received other special offers via email that rewarded $5 to my account (so it pays to actually look at the emails they send).

Another great thing about AMC Stubs is that once or twice a year, they’ll give away free passes to a pre-screening of a movie. I try to go every year they do this. This year, it was Criminal.

Now here’s the trick to the savings with loyalty cards:

In order to get that first $10 rewards from AMC Stubs, you need to spend $100 at AMC. The cheapest way to do that is by using your MoviePass.

Using MoviePass, that’s $15.99/movie applied to the AMC Stubs card. In a little over 6 visits, that equates to a $10 reward added to your AMC Stubs account.

In order to get that $10 reward without MoviePass, you’d end up spending $100 out of pocket to get to that $10 reward. With MoviePass, it’s around $34.99 to get to that $10 reward by seeing 6 movies in one month. That’s a savings of $65. That is the cheapest way to get to those rewards without spending any extra money.

But of course, many people like to stop at concessions to get their popcorn or drink. Just make sure you are earning points with those purchases. Remember, order the size down, because with AMC Stubs, it is an automatic upgrade to the next size.

Regal Crown Club is FREE to sign up. They work on a point system. You get points for movies/concessions which you can later redeem on concessions, free tickets and other exclusive movie items. They reward you for becoming a frequent guest. The more you check in during the year, the more points you’ll be able to earn per movie.

So whatever theater you frequent, make sure you sign up for their loyalty card program. Free movie tickets and concessions are in your future.

The Rewards Don’t Stop There

My friends usually laugh when they see me pulling out all of these reward tickets and cards when we go to the movies. Last week, I not only got a free ticket to see “The Huntsman,” but I also got a free small popcorn. I don’t eat movie popcorn, so I gave the reward to my friend who was able to upgrade the small to a large for only $2. I still got points added to my account for that $2 upgrade.

The thing is…they have no idea that the savings and rewards doesn’t stop there for me. I get more points to use towards other rewards.

Are you a member of Disney Movie Rewards? If you see Disney movies, Star Wars movies, Marvel movies, or even buy them…you are missing out on extra points you could be using towards Disney/Star Wars/Marvel items, gift cards (Starbucks, etc.), trip vouchers (Delta Vacations), or even photo processing gift certificates. It’s completely free to join. You can use your qualified movie tickets and DVD/Blu-Ray purchases to get points to use towards rewards.

I spend the year racking up as many points as I can get. In November, I use the points to purchase gifts for children who would not have a Christmas if it weren’t for the generosity of strangers.

Sony Rewards is another rewards program. You can rack up points in a variety of ways (fast track to getting rewards is to apply for their credit card and earn points that way). The rewards? They have everything from DVDs/Blurays on up to TVs, cameras, film equipment, etc. You can even use the points towards Ultimate Rewards for concert tickets, etc. It’s free to sign up and to make it easier to register your points…there’s an app.

Extras

For those 3D and 4DX movies that cannot be purchased by using the MoviePass, purchase your tickets through Fandango. Make sure you’ve signed up for Fandango Rewards. While some may be lamenting the fees involved with purchasing your tickets through Fandango…hear me out. You’ll find that purchasing 4DX tickets will sell out very quickly. [If you have not tried out 4DX, it is a must. It is worth every single penny. It is an experience in and of itself. It’s like you are in the movie.]

I went to see Captain America: Civil War’s first showing, which in NYC, starts at 7PM the day before the actual release nationwide. That morning, there were only 5 seats available for the 4DX showing. I grabbed my ticket right then and there through Fandango. As far as getting points, because it was a Marvel film, Disney Movie Rewards is connected to the Fandango account, as well as the Regal Crown Card, so I don’t have to do anything extra after the movie to make sure I got my credits through the rewards programs. It was already taken care of.

Now, this is why I mention Fandango Rewards, I’m going to introduce you to an app called Fandango Now. You can rent, buy and stream movies through the Fandango Now app. Points from your Fandango VIP Rewards can be used towards a percentage off on your purchase at Fandango Now. You get points through your purchases at Fandango Now (no points are rewarded through buying tickets at Fandango.com).

Fandango Now is still new to me, so I’ll explain why I am suggesting this app. I use Cinema Now and Fandango Now to buy and rent movies. Fandango Now has offered a lower sale price than Cinema Now on rentals. Last week, the rentals for a variety of titles (many new and not on DVD yet) were $1.99 each. I took an AmEx gift card I had received and bought up a few of the titles and streamed it on my tablet.

The Good Dinosaur was available on Fandango Now, but not on Cinema Now. They had gotten the release before Cinema Now, so I got it through them. That’s where Fandango Now has a little bit of an edge over Cinema Now. You can view many movies before they hit DVD and before other streaming services get the titles.

Now, here’s the downside…The Good Dinosaur was not in Ultraviolet. That means that I can’t put the title in my Ultraviolet library to watch in other Ultraviolet friendly apps such as Cinema Now. That means you can only view the movie on the Fandango Now app.

Keep in mind that Fandango Now is limited in how it can be used. It will work on your mobile devices, tablets and computers. For televisions and streaming equipment, it only works on a few select devices. Make sure to look closely at whether your Smart TV or streaming equipment is supported. If it isn’t, you’ll only be able to watch your movie/TV show on your devices and computer…unless you get the electronics Fandango Now works with (I’m hoping this changes soon and they get more licensing deals with other platforms like Microsoft to use on Xbox One).

If you stream movies all of the time on your computer and devices, then this snafoo does not apply to you. When purchasing titles, if you want to add it to your Ultraviolet library, make sure the title says ULTRAVIOLET on it. If it does not, you will only be able to watch the movie through the app.

For those wanting to save money on a movie night, check between Fandango Now and other streaming movie apps. Check their sales. Movie night at home could only cost $1.99 for a family of four on a release that just left the theaters and hasn’t hit DVD yet. I like that Fandango Now has titles not yet released through other streaming services. For those cinephiles that can’t wait…Fandango Now may be your better option.

SAVE BIG

So what have you learned? MOVIEPASS. This is a membership that pays for itself if you are a cinephile that goes to the movies a lot. If you’re an occasional movie goer, this isn’t for you. If you go to the movies 3 or more times a month (or would like to go that many times), then this is the membership for you.

Use your movie reward cards to earn rewards towards concessions, movie tickets and other memorabilia. For me, I am always earning rewards to use at the concessions every month. Sometimes it is a free dinner!

Sign up for Disney Movie Rewards and Sony Rewards. You may think you’re not watching a Disney movie, but if you love Star Wars and Marvel, then you’re actually at a Disney movie! Earn points to use towards gift cards and merchandise!

For streaming services, try Fandango Now. With the Fandango VIP, you can redeem points to earn a percentage off on rentals/movies. Fandango Now has releases before most streaming services. So if you want to see a title that just left the theater, they are your best bet. Also, make sure to check the sales between all of the streaming apps before purchasing. You may end up finding a better deal!

I hope you found this informative. This is how I watch movies. I try to bleed as many rewards out of that movie ticket as I can. This is how you can watch movies frugally. You can keep that $34.99/month (or less, depending on the region where you live) in your entertainment budget and reap the rewards of the various programs out there that can net you free concessions, free movie tickets for friends/family, and exclusive entries into sweepstakes.

And in the summer heat…this could be your little relief every single day. Happy Movie Watching!

Over these past few months I’ve been shifting my financial house in a new direction. I’ve paid off 60% of my debt, maximized savings, maximized my 401k and started budgeting (living by the envelope method). But even though I’m doing what’s best to push my financial dream in a new direction, I’m constantly revising what I’m doing to see if there are better ways of doing things.

So why talk about this on “Diary of a Perfectionist Wannabe?” Well, it has more to do with becoming a little bit better at making financial dreams come true. Here are a few things I’ve come across recently that has saved me time, money, and hassles. It’s made my life more convenient and helped me to reach my goals. It’s also helped me to find new places to get a better deal for the things I love most.

BUDGETING

After all the bills are paid, I set aside a certain amount to spend on food, laundry, dry cleaning, eating out and other miscellaneous expenses. It’s from this budget, I have to figure out the best way to get more bang for my buck.

I joined Amazon Prime this year. I am actually grateful that I did because I’m seeing that there are a lot of benefits to this membership. First, I don’t shop in stores often. I shop online. What’s great about Amazon Prime is that I can order the monthly items (like cat food, treats and litter) for a much lower price than I would find at Target. I don’t even have to pay for shipping, because technically, I already did. It cost me $105.93 for a year long membership, but if you divide it up by 12, that’s $8.83/month. If you think about how much it would cost to ship a 20 pound bag of litter plus 2-3 cases of of cat food every month…you’re actually getting a severe bout of savings.

Normally, I’d have to take a cab or an Uber car to/from Target. That’s $30-$40 round trip. If I have it delivered by a grocery delivery service, that’s a $20 delivery fee, plus another $4.95 service charge. If I pick it up at KMart by Madison Square Garden, I’d have to do all the schlepping plus the cost of using public transit to go from Point A to Point B and go up and down a lot of stairs. Amazon has saved me a lot of money, time and hassle just to get these items to my home.

For those who drive, factor in your car payment, insurance and cost for gas for the entire month. Divide the total to how many times you use your car during that month to get a better idea of how much each trip costs you (not to mention the amount of time you spend in the store and traveling to these places).

Prime customers also get access to Prime Pantry where you can fill up a box of groceries for a flat rate of $5.99. I’ve used Prime Pantry for the 20 lb bags of litter and then added in some additional items on the side (they separate the stuff up into 2 internal boxes inside of 1 big box). I also plan on using this to order and ship boxes out to my brother’s platoon. It saves so much time at all of the stores, going to the post office, etc. and it saves me $10 in shipping costs to ship to an APO. Once again, another cost savings.

Another amazing benefit to Prime is that members get access to Prime Instant Video, Prime Music, Prime Photos and 1 Kindle Book a month.

For those who like streaming movies and TV shows at home or on your devices, you’ll have access to hundreds of thousands of movies and programs. It’s unlimited. Netflix and Hulu Plus both start at $7.99/month…and you don’t get access to free shipping on stuff you’re probably ordering from Amazon already.

I also added Kindle Unlimited and Audible memberships to my entertainment budget. I am addicted to the Books with Narration from Kindle Unlimited. You can read the book, but when you have to stop and bookmark it because you have to walk from one place to the next, just switch it to the narration and you can listen to the book while you’re moving. For those who commute, this is an incredible feature. I was able to get through a 246 page book in 2 days. I usually do 1/2 of that just sitting down to read because I have to keep putting the book down. Being able to switch to narration while I’m walking around keeps the book going.

My goal of getting through 52 books this year is more feasible now.

I added Audible as well because it gives me access to more audio books that Kindle Unlimited doesn’t offer. For me, this is mainly for those Book Club books that haven’t become available on Kindle Unlimited yet (or when I want a book that just came out).

I took the suggestion from a fireman friend who suggested I start listening to audio books, especially since I’m having problems getting back into reading. Audio books have been a godsend because I can actually listen to “War and Peace” instead of forcing myself to sit down to read a chapter. Now, I can just listen to it while I’m walking around.

Another great feature from Kindle Unlimited are the reference and self-help books available to customers. While I’m at the office and have some down time, I’ll read books that help with my job. Like this week, I read “Math Made Easy” (which is basically a cheat sheet on how to do math in your head very quickly), and I read a book on Passive Income. Today, I plan on reading a book on organization. Truthfully, these aren’t books I’d spend money on or take time to take out of the library, but make them available to read online and I’m more apt to read them to better myself.

All in all, by using these new services from Amazon, I’m saving a lot of money and time by simplifying my life in many aspects. Sure, I can get library books and DVDs from the library for free, but the convenience of downloading the book I need where I can both read and listen to it? I’ll stick to these two services. [Note: Audible is only for Audio Books. Kindle Unlimited offers the book/narration option, but not all books offer narration.]

For Movie Going Lovers

Another part of my entertainment budget I keep in is Going to the Movies. These days, it’s about $15 a pop. Even more if you want to go to IMAX. There is a solution to this. MoviePass offers a membership for movie going lovers. It’s $34.99/month. You can see 1 movie per day.

Before signing up, I strongly urge you to see if the movie theater you go to takes this membership. For me, I can use it at every movie theater I go to, including the artsy community one across the street from me. These days, it pays for itself in 2 movies a month. I recommend waiting until the summer months to really take advantage (technically May starts the hot Hollywood films of the summer).

In order to get more bang for your buck, sign up for the movie theater’s membership club as well. Those tickets you’re purchasing through Movie Pass can be turned into points which can be turned into money you can use at the movie theater for concessions and even movie tickets (like if you want to see an IMAX film or use the extra ticket for a friend who isn’t a Movie Pass member).

The downside? You can see 1 movie every 24 hours. They are strict on the 24 hours. It used to be that it just reset itself every night (which was perfect)…and then it went strictly 24 hours down to the very last second. Another downside for some is that you can only watch the movie once. You can’t go see the same movie more than once while it is still in the movie theater and use the Movie Pass card.

How does it work? First, you need a smartphone in order to download the app. They’ll send you a Movie Pass credit card that is activated only after you check in to the movie through the app. You can only use it to purchase that 1 movie ticket.

If you go to movies frequently, I highly recommend this. It seriously cuts down the cost for movie lovers who love to go to the movies but don’t go because it’s just ridiculously too expensive these days. If you go to just three movies a month…the membership is more than paid for. If you went to one movie every day, each movie would cost a little over $1 each. It’s $34.99 for me because I’m in NYC. It will be less for people not living in major metropolitan areas.

FOR THE DESIGNER ADDICTS

I have a confession. I’m a bit of an addict when it comes to buying designer accessories. I have a rather large designer handbag collection. A couple of years ago, I decluttered the handbags down to only major designers, getting rid of all of the lesser names. Now, I just buy what I like to add to the handbag collection.

Currently on my radar is the Fendi fur bag bugs (aka Monster) collection. In my search, I came across a site called Tradesy. I took a look around and let’s just say I went on a bit of a spending spree.

I netted a Chanel, Hermes and Dior bag and purchased a pair of Louboutin and Fendi shoes. My friend did a delayed double take when I said, “So I bought an Hermes bag.” She couldn’t believe it, so I showed her my cart and lo and behold, my closet said I purchased an Hermes bag. No, I didn’t spend $20,000 on a birkin. I found a Herbag for $500. That’s half off what you’ll find at other consignment places.

Luckily, they were having a friends and family event, so I was able to take additional money off. You can get $25 off your purchase of $100 or more by using my special link: TRADESY.

P.S. As of right now, The Outnet is having their semi-annual clearance sale. This is a great time for fashionistas to stock up on all their favorite designers for up to 80% off the retail price. [My major score were a pair of Adidas by Stella McCartney ballet flats for $18. After all was said and done, I’d saved $2,286.75 on my entire order. That’s some serious savings.]

Also, for designer addicts that frequent Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom…trust me when I say you can get your coveted designer accessory for less. For instance, the Fendi monster tote bag is $1500 at Saks. That same bag is $999 at Overstock.com. The exact same bag. {Also, if you’re a Club O member, you can earn rewards from your purchases. I’ve been able to score free Fendi sunglasses thanks to all of the reward dollars I earned from shopping at Overstock.com.}

Other places you should look: Century 21 shops (they have an online store), TJMaxx (yes, they are finally online), Loehmann’s (they may have closed all of their stores, but that’s because they went e-commerce) and Modnique. I’ve found that a lot of these shops have the same merchandise, but you never know if they’ll have a special sale on top of their already discounted prices.

The book is a quick read, so I highly recommend taking a look at it just to get your brain moving in a direction of earning passive income (I don’t recommend doing what he suggests, but it’s worth a read to understand what you can do to grow passive income) [it’s a free read with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited].

I want to touch on the Education part. This is why I recommend Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited…he suggests putting away 10% of your income to the education fund. I never put 10% away to an education fund mainly because I already had my schooling and frankly don’t have time to do continuing education courses. I also don’t have kids, so really, this was an account I could do without.

I started to think about it and then realized just how much money I’m saving by using the Kindle Unlimited membership, especially if I take the membership fee from the Education account. During the day, I’m pulling up books that will better myself. I even have books written by scientists discussing their various theories. There are even books on Photoshop, photography, etc. that I can read during the day. In other words, Kindle Unlimited has opened the door to a world filled with resources where I can better educate myself.

I spent a lot of time on Wednesday doing math problems just to jog my memory of how to do math in my head. I’m glad I did, because it forced me to re-memorize addition and multiplication tables (something that I had forgotten post-op). By really diving into complex math equations I started looking at the equations and answering them in my head in half the ‘short steps’ the author was suggesting. To me, this meant that math was back in my head again.

In other words, sometimes you just have to challenge yourself, especially when it comes to forgetting how to do things that are as important as math.

There are so many things out there to learn. That was the point of the Education account. You have to constantly challenge and better yourself. If you don’t, you won’t be able to command good salaries or keep working. After all, I’ve seen what happens to people that didn’t learn how to use a computer. They’re barely making it. You never want to be left behind, so continuously better yourself through education. It doesn’t have to cost you a fortune.

Who knows? By all the money I save in the Education account, maybe I can just use it towards an educational trip or an archaeological dig somewhere.

Just something to think about…but I highly recommend reading the Passive Income book. It will give you a new idea on how to budget yourself in order to earn income, and take a hard look at how you’re living. Re-doing the way you do your budget is interesting. It’s the 50-30-20 lifestyle, but that 30-20 is changed to 30% savings and 20% doing whatever you want with the money. Previously, it was vice versa. You’d save 20% and use 30% to do whatever. Personally, I like this new take on budgeting. What he shows you is how to use 10% of that 30% towards increasing your passive income…that’s what makes it worth the read.